Medical Marijuana on NM Legislative Agenda
Andrea | The Bill Richardson Blog | 01/19/2005
Wow. Gov. Bill Richardson, after meeting with numerous ill New Mexicans, added the legalization of marijuana for medical uses to his call for the 30-day session about to kick off. The session is extremely full already, but this is a very interesting development. The prospects for the bill are good: last yearâ??s version passed the Senate easily, but stalled in the House due to a personal conflict between representatives over an unrelated zoning issue. Ah, politics!
This is another aggressive move from the Gov, and I think a very good one, not because itâ??s politically shrewd or not, but because itâ??s right. Seriously ill people should be able to use marijuana to relieve pain and nausea that often leave them unable to eat properly. If a bill passes, New Mexico would become the 12th state with such a policy after Rhode Islandâ??s bold override of their governorâ??s veto Jan. 3rd.
Of course, this piecemeal legalization by the states is all operating under the shadow of Gonzales v. Raich: no matter what the states do, using cannabis is illegal, and because itâ??s a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, itâ??s illegal to prescribe, even if the patient grows it herself. The federal governmentâ??s current â??look the other wayâ? stance doesnâ??t seem tenable in the long term; what needs to happen is that marijuana needs to be moved from Schedule I down to a level where it can be prescribed (it probably fits the criteria for Schedule III best.) Perhaps a Richardson presidential administration could include a DEA willing to do the right thing on this issue.
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